Pitching: Sale (Optimal), Eovaldi (GPP #1), Gore (GPP #2), Olson (GPP #3)
Hitting: ATL (Optimal), WAS (GPP #1), BOS (GPP #2), CWS (Value)
Weather: All Clear!
Happy Mothers Day to everybody! We have a fun slate in store to end the week and we are loving the spots we have listed! Let’s not waste anymore time and get into it!
The optimal pitcher of this slate is Chris Sale, who takes on the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has a K rate of at least 30% to both sides of the plate, which is much higher than normal when it comes to your typical pitcher. As a whole, the Pirates strikeout at a 23% clip, which is just above the league average making this a sweet spot for Sale. In terms of the X stats, he is elite against RHH holding them to the tune of a (.131 xISO/.281 xwOBA). That is important to note because he will be facing a full 9 RHH today. Sale is a great option in cash games for both sites.
The next pitcher of discussion is Nathan Eovaldi, who takes on the Detroit Tigers. Eovaldi has K rates of at least 26% to both sides, which is what we like to see considering this Detroit team collectively strikes out at a 23.1% clip, which is above average. The X stats also look fantastic with him holding RHH to the tune of a (.117/.294) rate. When it comes to the LHH, his top two pitches, which he throws a combined 57% of the time, get hit for no more than a (.113/.271) rate. This is as good as it gets when looking for a pitcher to have success today.
The next option on this slate is MacKenzie Gore, who takes on the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, Gore has had some insane K rates, with LHH striking out at a 44% clip and RHH a 33% clip. These are statistically the best strikeout rates from all the pitchers we have listed today. The Cardinals are top 5 in lowest strikeout % but we believe Gore has the assets necessary to overcome the low strikeout rates. When it comes to the X stats, he holds RHH to a (.143/.287) rate, which is important because he will be facing 6 of them today. When it comes to LHH, his two primary pitches, which he throws for over a combined 54% of the time, get hit for no higher than a (.087/.176) rate, which is elite. In addition, the three LHH on the Cardinals team do not hit LHP well anyway. Gore is a great pitcher to use in GPPs.
The last pitcher to make note of is Reese Olson, who looks like a nice value today against the Texas Rangers. He has a 30% K rate to LHH, which is very good, and he’ll be taking on a lineup with five lefties today. We love the way the X stats looks because RHH can only muster up a (.095/.316) rate against him. When it comes to the LHH, three of his primary pitches, which he throws a combined 63% of the time, get hit for no higher than a (.119/.319) rate, which we love to see. Lock in Reese Olson as a way to help you spend up for bats!
Our first hitting stack of the day comes in Atlanta with the Atlanta Braves who take on Carmen Mlodzinski. The reason they look good is because hitters have torched that fastball of Mlodzinski and this Atlanta team has some fastball mashers. Marcell Ozuna (.288/.417), Matt Olson (.452/.501), Ozzie Albies (.313/.362), Michael Harris (.333 xwOBA), Eli White (.300/.572), and Drake Baldwin (.201/.430) have hit that pitch very well this year. Alex Verdugo (.347 xwOBA) and Austin Riley (.227/.351) are also viable given their success against RHP.
Our next hitting stack is the Washington Nationals, who take on Miles Mikolas and the St. Louis Cardinals. The problem for Miles is that he is not striking out hitters per usual, so his fastball is basically a meatball to the average batter. CJ Abrams (.272/.403), James Wood (.497/.613), Nathaniel Lowe (.435 xwOBA), Keibert Ruiz (.368 wOBA), Josh Bell (.265/.368), Luis Garcia (.206/.423), Riley Adams (.922/.665) and Dylan Crews (.348/.443) all hit the fastball well today, making this a very fun GPP stack to use.
Another interesting stack that is going under the radar are the Boston Red Sox, who take on Seth Lugo and the Royals. His ordeal is that he is also not striking out hitters, therefore they have been able to kill his fastball pitch this year. Guys like Jarren Duran (.373 xwOBA), Rafael Devers (.312/.472), Alex Bregman (.436/.462), Wilyer Abreu (.271/.351), Kristian Campbell (.254/.371), Nick Sogard (.699xwOBA), Carlos Narvaez (.260/.374), and Ceddanne Rafaela (.229/.391) are all great options that hit the fastball well.
The value stack of the day are the Chicago White Sox, who take on a struggling Sandy Alcantra. We are going to sound like a broken record today, but Alcantara also has not been able to strike out batters, which is why he is getting punished when he throws his primary pitch, the fastball. Chase Meidroth (.345 xwOBA), Josh Rojas (.359 xwOBA), Luis Robert (.352/.371), Matt Thaiss (.370 xwOBA), Andrew Vaughn (.424/.410), and Joshua Palacios (.205/.381) have all seen that pitch well this year, which makes them excellent salary relief options that allow you to pay up on the mound. Best of luck!